Mauricio Pochettino is ready to face criticism as he returns to Tottenham, even though he wants to remind Spurs fans that leaving the club in November 2019 was not his choice.
He believes that he might have still been the manager at Tottenham for the upcoming crucial match against Chelsea if he hadn’t been dismissed.
When asked how he would handle a potentially hostile reception, similar to what Declan Rice received at West Ham recently, Pochettino said, “I am going to accept whatever they will show. The only difference is I didn’t decide to leave. We parted ways because I was sacked. It’s not a criticism of the club but that is the difference. We didn’t decide to leave. Maybe we would even still be there.”
The high-stakes derby brings back painful memories for Pochettino, as his Premier League title hopes with Spurs were famously dashed by Chelsea during the Battle of the Bridge in May 2016.
Now in charge of Chelsea, he considers Spurs to be genuine title contenders and aims to hand Tottenham their first top-flight defeat of the season. However, he holds no grudges against his former employers or chairman Levy, who sent him a classy text message after his appointment at Chelsea.
Pochettino insists that there was no contact regarding a return to north London before he signed his contract at Stamford Bridge. Nevertheless, he did suggest that an approach might have been considered if the timing had been right.
“It’s a good question but it’s difficult to answer,” he replied when asked how he would have reacted to an approach from Tottenham. “We were previously involved at Paris Saint-Germain but the times [Spurs were looking for a new manager] never arrived at the right moment. That is why it – going back – never happened in four years, for different reasons.”
Pochettino, known for his passionate nature, doesn’t promise to keep his emotions in check on Monday, even though sentiment will play a minor role. He previously admitted during his time at Spurs that his mother called him ‘La Llorona,’ which translates to ‘The Cryer,’ due to his sensitivity.
“The chairman [of Tottenham] will tell you the same,” Pochettino stated. “He once said to me ‘you are so emotional’. I remember when we spent the week together in Argentina and when we left the place I started to cry. It was Daniel, next to the driver, Jesus Perez and myself in a 4×4 car and when we arrived at the airport, Jesus said to me that Daniel asked: ‘Why was Mauricio crying?’ Like my mother said, I am very sensitive.”
Interestingly, Chelsea has lost more Premier League matches (four) than they’ve won (three) under Pochettino this season. He accumulated two more points (14) from his first 10 top-flight matches at Tottenham in 2014, but he argues that the two experiences are not directly comparable.
“It is difficult to compare,” he added. “When we arrived at Spurs, it was not long after Luka Modric and Gareth Bale had left and they had spent a lot of money on signing players. It was about young guys like Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Son Heung-min, Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason. Here it is just the beginning and it’s always tougher. When you have a young team it’s always tougher to find a way to perform. This is a very exciting project. Our performances are good – what we are missing is translating those into results.”
Chelsea performance and stats
Chelsea is currently 13th in the Premier League with 12 points.
In the last 10 games, it has won 3 times, drawn 3 times, and lost 4 times. In its last match, Chelsea lost 0-2 against Brentford.
It has a positive goal difference after scoring 13 goals and conceding 11.
Chelsea will play the next match in Premier League against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday 6th of November in London. The prediction is Tottenham Hotspur winning the match.
Tottenham Hotspur performance and stats
Tottenham Hotspur is currently 2nd in the Premier League with 26 points.
In the last 10 games, it has won 8 times and drawn twice. In its last match, Tottenham Hotspur won 1-2 against Crystal Palace.
It has a positive goal difference after scoring 22 goals and conceding 9.
Tottenham Hotspur will play the next match in Premier League against Chelsea on Monday 6th of November in London. The prediction is Tottenham Hotspur winning the match.
